Recipes and tips from a mid-western Mom, Sister, Aunt and Grandma mixed with stories of family life and food shared and handed down from generation to generation upon request! My recipes are indexed on, Very Good Recipes.

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5/20/14

Best Roasted Broccoli and Cheese Ever

This is so simple and so delicious! Just a handful of this and a handful of that to delicious! It does work best if you do think ahead a bit as you need to blanch the broccoli and sliced garlic ahead of preparing. It will do better if left in the drainer for a while to dry out before roasting.

Ingredients for Roasted Broccoli and Cheese:

1 large bunch of fresh broccoli (Usual found as three stalks bound together at the market.)
salt
a splash a vinegar or fresh lemon juice
2-3 cloves fresh garlic peeled and sliced
3-4 T. olive oil
large hand full panco bread crumbs
large hand full grated Parmesan cheese
large pinch of kosher coarse salt
large pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of dried cayenne pepper flakes

Heat a large kettle of water on the stove to a rolling boil. Add salt and a splash of vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Meanwhile clean the broccoli by cutting off the lower tough bottom of the stalk. I usually remove about the bottom inch or do. Take the knife and pull the tough skin from the stalk catching it at the bottom with the edge of your knife and pulling it upwards. You will find the stalks much more tender by doing this.

Prepare a large bowl of ice covered with water leaving space to add the broccoli later. Set aside.

Next quarter the stalks separating them from the florets into 1" pieces. Keep the florets separate and cut them into bite size pieces. Place the sliced cloves of garlic and the bite sized stalks of broccoli into the boiling water. Return to the boil and time for 1 minute. After the stalks have boiled 1 minute add the florets, return to a boil, and time 1 additional minute.

Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove the broccoli and garlic from the boiling bath plunging it directly into the ice water bath. Submerge the vegetables until they are cold and a bright vibrant green. Pour into a large colander in the sink to drain. Remove any chunks of ice that remain. Leave to dry a bit.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and place a half sheet or other large pan with a lip all of the way around in the oven to preheat.

Pout the vegetables into a large bowl and add the oil, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, black pepper, and cayenne flakes and toss well.

Spread onto the preheated pan. If desired you may top with a few more crumbs and a bit more cheese. Check after 15-20 minutes to see if it has become brown and toasted on the edges. Serve and enjoy. Yield 2-3 servings.